Monday, 19 September 2011

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - September 2011

Not a huge amount of change in my garden since the August Bloom Day. Still, the season is moving on, and Autumn is definitely here. There was a day last week when everything that was growing seemed to shrink back slightly. The light is declining, with sunrise nearly at 7 am, and sunset by 7.30 pm. The equinox approaches.

Above, a marigold droops in the rain. Marigolds are a cottage garden favourite that I can't get enough of in Autumn. The sowing I did this year seemed to take reluctantly, and so the blooms are very sparse and all the more precious as a result. I don't know what happened to germination of my seeds this year, either in the garden or at the allotment. I'm going to read up about biodynamics over the winter, although I can't quite get my head round the preparations such a horn silica.

Below, autumn colours are beginning to appear on my blueberry bush.

Still a few fruits appearing on the woodland strawberries, and strangely the slugs don't seem to have found them.

Below, red clover which I sowed in a border as a mini patch of green manure, but which has also failed to germinate well.

Roses are making a brave second showing, although I doubt if the profusion of buds will all flower unless we get a very balmy spell now.

A bit of confusion here: a Spring-flowering polyanthus has decided to bloom, behind the seed pods of 'Love-in-a-Mist'.

A climbing fuchsia is doing well, but has a long way to go before rivalling the hedges we saw in Skye this summer.

Janet, I did think my broadcasting technique was lacking. Who knows what's going on this year. I've just sown rye at the allotment - some photos of that to come so we can compare notes.

Alison, your woodland strawberries sound like too much of a good thing. They certainly wander around my garden - I'm never sure where they'll pop up next, but they still aren't plentiful enough to be a nuisance.

Your garden is starting to wind down, while mine is perking right up, now that the heat of summer is behind us. I'll try to remember this next year when everything is frying in July; September brings growth and a sigh of relief to the garden.

Lovely shots, although the sight of the rosebuds with little chance of blooming seems to sum up the coming end of the garden.